CHILTON COUNTY, Alabama -- A new wave of small businesses and a growing population are helping Chilton County -- Alabama's peach capital -- create new stems for a diversified economy.

The county, home to a Peach Festival that dates back to 1947, can produce as much as 15 million pounds of the fruit annually. Peaches are a big business for the county, with as many as 7,000 peach trees planted on 700 acres. But on a four-acre, family-owned vineyard in Jemison, it's about grapes, not peaches.

Hidden Meadow Vineyard had a grand opening a few months ago. Bill Bailey, who owns the vineyard with his wife, Janette, said it's the first winery in the county since Prohibition stamped out Chilton's grape industry nearly a century ago. Jemison voted to exempt itself from Chilton's dry county status two years ago, creating an opportunity for the couple.

"We were going to just have a vineyard and just sell fresh fruits to the public," he said. "But when the opportunity came to open a winery, we just jumped all over it."

The grapes are comprised mostly of muscadines, he said, but there's also Santa Ana, Concord and Niagra varities. Bailey said they started planting some grapes in 2005, and opened on June 17 of this year. In September, Bailey and his son harvested three tons of grapes. When all the vines have matured over the next few years, that could more than double. So far, they sell 10 types of wine.

And business has been "better than expected," he said. He and his son built two wooden buildings: one for production and another for selling and tasting. There's a front porch with rocking chairs where guests can visit and sip a glass. It's already been booked for events such as weddings, receptions and business meetings.

Positive developments

Hidden Meadow Vineyard is just one of more than 20 new businesses to pop up in the county, according to Mike Robertson, executive director of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce. Others include hospice places, a cafe, computer repair center and music store.

Meanwhile, automotive suppliers that employ hundreds in the area have been talking about expansion as that industry rebounds in the state.

"We're getting a lot of different kinds of businesses in this past year," Robertson said. "When you see people going out on a limb and taking risks to do that, to me that's an indicator that things are turning around a bit."

State and local government officials have also looked at trying to bring European green industry companies to Chilton County in the hopes of creating a "clean technology" hub for the region.

In October 2010, a group called the Mid-Alabama Green Network for Economic Technology Transfer organized a conference in Clanton. Funded with a $25,000 grant, the conference brought representatives from 10 Scandinavian companies to discuss how the European firms could expand into the U.S. while creating jobs and economic growth in Chilton County.

The recession delivered a blow to Chilton. In April 2007, the unemployment rate was 2.1 percent and there were 19,202 jobs in the county, according to figures from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations. By last June, the jobless rate had peaked at 10.4 percent. In November, the rate had declined to 7.5 percent, with 17,689 people employed in Chilton, a level that remains far below pre-recession days.

Bill Bailey is shown at Hidden Meadow Vineyard in Jemison. He and his wife, Janette, started the winery last summer and believe it is the first in Chilton County since Prohibition. (The Birmingham News/Beverly Taylor)

Another potential setback for this agricultural community could be Alabama's strict new immigration law. Farmers from all over the state have said the law could hurt their business and deter them from planting as many crops next year -- or, in some cases, to give up farming altogether.

Robertson said he thinks the law will pose obstacles early on, but that farmers will get through it, just like they do droughts and other calamities.

Attractive destination

Some big employers in Chilton County could soon see expansion, including auto suppliers CRH North America and Kumi Manufacturing. Robertson said both have been considering expansion plans. CRH, owned by Johnson Controls, makes auto seat assemblies at a plant in Clanton; it had about 500 workers in 2009, though no recent figure is available. Kumi, also in Clanton, makes plastic parts for Honda's Alabama factory and has nearly 200 employees, according to the 2011 "Alabama Manufacturers Register."

Experts have said that as the state's anchor automotive manufacturers expand, so will suppliers. Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Honda all are making moves to expand production at their Alabama assembly factories.

Chilton's growing population is sure to increase demand for shopping, restaurants and other cultural amenities, as people who work in Birmingham decide to get a place farther away from the city, Robertson said.

The county's population grew 9.3 percent over the past decade, from 39,593 in 2000 to an estimated 43,275 in 2010, according to a Birmingham Business Alliance analysis of U.S. Census data. It's expected to gain another 3.5 percent over the next five years, BBA figures show.

"With the growth we're seeing here, with the unemployment rate dropping, with the new businesses opening up and with the current businesses expanding, it feel to me like Chilton county may be pulling out of this recession," Robertson said.